The fundamental role of public health informatics has been highlighted by the two recent landmark reports of the Institute of Medicine of National Academies. The threats of bioterrorism, concerns regarding the responsiveness of biomedical research to public health needs, desire for more information while reducing paper work in disease surveillance, the national shortage of scientifically sound and individually tailored health education, and the challenge of educating future professionals for a more interconnected and knowledge oriented society are the primary reasons for this proposal. The following specific goals will guide this IAIMS initiative: (i) create an interconnected educational and research environment responsive to the needs of public health; (ii) serve practitioners with electronic information that connects public health data with knowledge; (iii) to advance the methods and standards of public health informatics. The multidisciplinary IAIMS proposal of Saint Louis University will build on the strategic plans of the University, IT services, library, and participating schools. The proposal is for a planning grant application that should create the organizational mechanisms, technical environment, and academic focus that sets the stage for a successful operations phase. Extramural partners include the St. Louis County Health Department and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. The initiatives of the digital library of patient education resources and computable knowledge for health care response will serve as special emphasis areas of the overall effort to create integrated electronic information services for community and personal health decisions.